Marry Me!
by cbear9187
Summary: Jacks's son is in love. Posted from discussion at Fishbiscuit. Update: Now it's Lilly's turn to be in love.
1. Marry Me!

Title: Marry Me!  
Author: Carrie Pairing/Classification: Skate/Jacket Rating: GS

Summary: "Daddy guess what? I'm gonna marry her!"

"Damnit."

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. The headache seemed to ease, but he just sighed, dropping the wrench he was holding. It was a lost cause anyway. He couldn't fix it.

It had been a quiet morning, but suddenly there was the sound of pounding footsteps. He lifted his head to see the little boy racing at him, arms wide open. "Daddy!" he yelled, skidding to a stop, the soles of his small sneakers peeling up.

Yet another thing that needed to be fixed, he thought, reaching over to tie one of the loose laces. "Yeah buddy?"

"Daddy guess what? I'm gonna marry her!"

He looked up at his son's piercing blue eyes, smiling slightly. "You're going to marry who?"

"I'm gonna marry Lilly. She's fine."

"You've been hanging around your uncle too much," he joked, straightening up. He picked up the rusty bike, tossing it against the house. "I can't fix your bike kid. I think you really broke it this time."

The small boy shrugged. "Oh well. But Daddy, I have to marry her. Will you let me marry her?"

"You're four," he reminded his son, walking into the house, the little boy trotting after him. Once inside he opened up the fridge, pulling out two bottles of water, handing one to his son and keeping the other for himself. Sipping at it, he set it on the counter, leaning back to cross his arms over his chest. "So you're going to marry Lilly?"

"I am," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "I'm going to grow up and I'm going to be a doctor and then I'm going to marry her." He smiled happily, wiping water off of his mouth with the back of his grubby hand. "Daddy are you and Mommy married?"

In a loose sense of the term, he thought. He smiled, shaking his head. "Sort of."

"What about Lilly's mommy and daddy are they married?"

'Hell no," he laughed, shaking his head. "Those two get married? No. But if you want to marry her you can. I'm sure Lilly's daddy would be more than happy to let you guys get married. You have to ask him you know."

"Huh?"

"You have to ask the bride's father for permission."

He wrinkled his small nose. "Why?"

"Lilly likes books right?"

"Yeah."

"Well in the old books the daddy used to have to give his permission. It's just an old thing. I think you should do it, just so Lilly's daddy knows."

"Okay! Come on. Let's go." He slid out of the chair, grabbing his father's hand and dragging him out the door of the house

A few houses down from them, he ran up to the stoop and banged on the door. It opened a second later, revealing Lilly's dad. "Hey Rome. What's up?"

"I have a question," he announced, crossing his arms over his little chest.

Glancing up to the other man, he shrugged. "Shoot."

"Can I marry Lilly?"

The sole reason he told his son to do this was so he could see the expression on the other man's face. It was priceless. He hid a smile, keeping his hand on his son's shoulder.

The other man crossed and uncrossed his arms, opening and closing his mouth. He looked away and then back, trying to make up his mind. He knelt down to the little boy's height, smiling slightly. "She make you happy?"

"Yes."

"You'd do anything in the world for her?"

"Yes."

"You love her?"

He nodded his little blond head proudly. "Yes."

"Well then," he commented, smiling at the little boy. "You can marry her."

"Yay! Thank you! I'm gonna go find her right now!" He turned around and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him around the house to the backyard, leaving the two adults behind.

Immediately, the other man spoke. "I ain't your in-law."

"I don't want to be yours either." He nodded to the backyard. "When do you think they'll get a divorce?"

"Should be soon I imagine."

A moment later a little girl with long dark curls ran around the side of the house, shaking her head from side to side. "I ain't gonna marry you Romeo Shepard! I'm gonna marry no one!"

"Guess it was over before it began," he commented, seeing his son chase the sprite around the houses and the pathways, attempting to convince her to marry him. He looked to the other man, smiling slightly. "She asked me if you were married."

"Freckles and me? Hell I asked her about twenty-three times and she keeps saying no."

"What do I keep saying no to?"

They both turned to see her walking towards them, her hands pressed against her lower back. She smiled politely at him, frowning at the sight of her daughter running away from his son. "What are they doing?"

He smiled at his old friend slightly. "Romeo asked your daughter to marry him and she won't accept."

"Good for her."

"Will you marry me Kate?"

"I told you no last night," she reminded him, rubbing her belly. She nodded to both of them before disappearing back into the air-conditioned house. They stood on the step a moment longer before he went back inside, deciding he'd try to convince her again.

Waiting a second on the stoop, he grinned at the loud "NO!" from inside the house.

"Come on Freckles!"

"I'm not marrying you!"

"I'll knock you up again."

"Ooh, nice comeback!"

Laughing, he walked back to his house, seeing his "wife" waiting for him, her arms over her chest. She smiled serenely. "Why is our son chasing Lilly Ford?"

"He's going to marry her. Then he went to ask Sawyer for permission and he gave it to him, but Lilly wouldn't accept. Now Sawyer is trying to convince Kate to marry him." He smiled at her, taking her hand into his. "Not like we can anyway."

She returned the small smile, rising on her toes to kiss him gently. "We can pretend. But I think even then she's going to just say no. It's not their nature."

This woman surprised him constantly. "How do you mean?"

Shrugging, she sank down on the steps, looking out at the children playing. "I mean, that it's just not their nature to settle. They don't have to be married to be in love," she calmly explained, as though it was plainly obvious and he was a rather obtuse child.

She glanced over to see the two back out on the porch, laughing and smiling together, clearly over their spat. "See? They don't need to be married to have that." Then she grinned widely. "Just like you and me."

He smiled, holding her close. Resting his cheek against her blonde hair, he closed his eyes. That was very true.

But still, as much as he loved his son, he kinda hoped he'd move beyond Lilly Ford.

There was a scuffle in another yard and he looked over just in time to see Lilly push his son into a hole, where the little boy looked up at her in complete adoration before she flounced off.

"Wait!" Romeo shouted, fighting to climb up. "Lilly! Marry me!"

Her long dark locks flew in her freckled face when she giggled, hands on her hips. "What part of no don't you understand?"

Romeo pursed his lips as she ran back to her house. He smiled lovingly, stars in his eyes. "She likes me."

THE END


	2. Marry Me A Little More

Title: Marry Me A Little More Pairing/Classification: Skate Rating: GS Summary: "Daddy this is serious."

"Come here Mary-Mary-Quite-Contrary."

He lifted his newborn daughter up from her makeshift cradle, holding her close to his chest as he fumbled his other hand with her bottle. She fussed as he tried to get her to drink, but he just shrugged. "Sorry sweetie. I know it ain't Mommy, but we all have to deal."

Walking into the living room, he patted her back gently as she drank from the bottle, her tiny brow furrowed in frustration. She did not like her bottle. He knew if she had it her way she'd sleep all day, but sadly, nutrition and the occasional diaper change kept her from this preference.

The door to the quiet house burst open, a grimy, dirt-covered child stomping in, her little freckled nose wrinkled, and her green eyes flashing fire.

Uh oh, he thought, glancing at her. "What's wrong Lilly?"

"I hate that Romeo!"

Great. He sighed, moving Mary to his shoulder to burp her. "What'd he do now?"

She spun away from the trunk filled with her toys, a large umbrella in her hands. "He won't marry me!"

"You told him no!"

"I was..." she stomped her foot, fighting for the correct word to use. "Confused!"

He just smiled politely at her, his eyes softening. "What were you confused about sweetheart?" This wasn't really his area, he thought. This was a mother-daughter thing. Hell, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do with a daughter. Then again, he had the sneaky suspicion that if they ever had more kids, he'd probably only have girls.

Karma was a kick in the ass.

The little girl shrugged her shoulders, the umbrella falling. "Dunno. Just heard Mommy say it once bout' you."

Um, what? He frowned, glancing down at her. A loud belch sounded in his ear, then a sob. He smoothed his fingers across his little daughter's back, comforting her as the thoughts raced through his mind.

His oldest daughter glanced up at him, shrugging again. "I like him Daddy."

"He's the only guy here your age."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Daddy, this is serious."

"You're four," he reminded her, taking her hand and leading her out into the backyard. They sat down on the porch swing, his legs stretching out in front of him, while hers dangling over the side, her little tennis shoes slipping off her feet.

They rocked in silence for a moment, while he tried to think of what else to say to make her feel better. "So..."

"So?"

Oh holy crap. This was stupid. "Lilly you're four. You don't got to get married now. Now, Romeo came to me about a month ago and he wanted to marry you. I said yes. You guys can get married if you want."

"But he said no when I asked!" she cried out, rubbing at her nose. Dirt smeared across her cheek. "So pushed him in the dirt."

"Maybe that's why he said no."

"But I always push him in the dirt!"

Well she learned from her mother, he thought, briefly recalling the multiple times he'd been hit, pushed, or attacked by her mother. "Okay," he said, moving the little baby to the center of his chest, where she was already fast asleep. "Why don't you say sorry to Romeo and then maybe he'll say yes?"

The expression on her face was priceless. He might have well suggested she fling herself off a cliff into the ocean. "Sorry?" she echoed, with the slightest hint of a lisp.

He quickly zeroed in to see one of her front two teeth was just about ready to fall out. Hmm, then maybe he would have something to do with her. He could teach her to spit water out, but now wasn't the time for that. "Sorry," he repeated, nodding gravely. "Sometimes you gotta' say it."

"But..."

"Lilly. Sometimes you have to say it." He frowned slightly. "Now what did your momma say about me and being confused?"

She waved a hand, shrugging. "Dunno. Can't member'. Okay. I'll go say sorry for pushing him in the dirt." Her little green eyes sought his and she smiled, matching dimples appearing in her cheeks. "I like him a lot. We're bestest friends."

"Let me know if you guys get married," he advised her, walking with her back around to the front of the house, where the little blond boy waited, holding out a pink daisy.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, giving her the flower. "I'll marry you."

"Oh yay!"

He grinned stupidly, watching his daughter run off with her friend. They stopped at the swings and quickly set about seeing who could go the highest, while they discussed their wedding plans.

"I see they're friends again."

Turning, he saw her walking towards him, piling her hair up on the top of her head. He frowned slightly. "Take it down."

"Sawyer it's hot and sticky." She smiled serenely at her sleeping daughter, who seemed to be permanently glued to her father's chest. Her hand covered the tiny little head, smoothing down a stray dark curl. "She's so beautiful."

"Like someone else I know," he whispered, gazing down at her embarrassed face. It flushed pink and only served to make him love her more. "Heard something interesting today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Seems Lilly overheard you saying that you were confused about me." He stopped in front of their house, brow furrowed. "What was that about?"

Licking her lips, she glanced away, then back at him before breaking into a smile. "She said I was confused?"

"Yeah."

One of her arms came up to drape around his neck, while her other rose up, her hand cupping his cheek. "I love you," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. He knew this because she didn't often say the words. When she did utter that phrase, it was often when she meant business, when she needed him to know. "I told Juliet I wasn't confused about my feelings. Not like a long time before."

"You were confused about your feelings?" he asked quietly. "When?"

"Before I had two of the most beautiful girls imaginable with you. Before you asked me to marry you multiple times." She grinned widely. "Before I decided that yeah, marriage might not be such a bad thing, even on an island."

His eyes widened. "You want to marry me, now?"

Giggling like a little school girl, she wrinkled her nose, standing up on her tip toes to kiss him gently. "Uh huh."

"Okay. Should we get Hugo to do it?"

She could only smile. "Sure, why not?"

He draped his arm over her shoulder, keeping his other closed to his chest while he held the baby. "We better make it a double wedding."

"Why?"

Just then they paused, watching another tall blonde walk towards them, trying to contain her giggles. "Did you hear?" she called out.

"Hear what?"

"I guess Romeo and Lilly are getting married. Now. In the backyard."

"This I gotta' see," he commented, going around one of the backyards just in time to see Romeo and Lilly frowning at each other. "What's going on guys?"

"I don't want to do it!" she exclaimed, shaking her head, her hair flying about her face in a wild mass. "I won't!"

"Me either!" the little boy agreed. "No, no!"

All of the adults looked around. "Won't do what?" Romeo's father asked.

Both of the kids looked up at him like he was stupid. "Kiss," the little girl said, giving him a 'duh' expression. "I won't kiss him."

"Thank god," he exclaimed, almost loud enough to wake the baby on his chest. "You're too young."

"You kiss Mommy."

"Because I like it," she piped up. "I want to kiss him too. Now guys, are you married or not?"

The little boy kicked at a stray rock. "I guess, but I don't want to play anymore. I want to go play with Ji Yeon."

Little green eyes flashed. "You what?"

"Bye Lilly."

She watched her best friend/husband walk away, dragging a stick on the ground as he went. Her face contorted in a confused and odd expression. "Fine!" she yelled. "I hate you Romeo!" Then she stalked away, kicking and pushing anything in her way.

Standing near the house, the doc shrugged. "Well I guess that's it then."

"Not quite. We're getting married."

"That's great," the blonde enthused, clapping her hands together. "When?"

Both exchanged a look and just shrugged. She gave a small wave, steering him back to the house. "I thought Lilly was supposed to be thirteen when the pouting and the screaming and ranting were to begin."

"We got a lot to learn about girls Freckles. Before you know it, this one will be talking about marrying Jack's kid," he commented, gesturing to the sleeping infant.

In the other room, flopped out on her bed, Lilly peered up at the ceiling. "I'll get you Romeo Shepard," she grumbled, hitting her pillow. She glanced out the window to see him moping around his house. "Ha ha. Ji Yeon don't like him. She likes Aaron!"

She watched him a moment longer, sighing heavily. Chasing after Romeo was tiring. "Maybe tomorrow."

THE END 


End file.
